One of the projected solutions to the long-term need for energy is the harnessing of solar power to provide an essentially limitless energy source. There are various methods of converting solar energy to a more usable form such as heat or electrical power, among which is photovoltaic conversion, (i.e., the direct conversion of light energy to electrical energy). This is usually accomplished by means of solid state devices called solar cells which can be made from various semi-conductor materials such as silicon (Si), cadmium sulfide (CdS), cadmium telluride (CdTe), gallium arsenide (GaAs), etc. The problems of manufacturing such cells in the enormous quantities required to produce significant electrical output (relative to present U.S.A. capacity of 4 .times. 10.sup.11 watts) have two major areas: the first to produce the necessary basic semiconductor material and the second to process the latter into functional solar cells.
Many approaches have or are being taken to the first problem of producing the basic material. The present invention is concerned with the second area of converting the basic material very economically into functioning solar cells with the objective of considerably simplifying and improving the methods. All basic aspects of the invention have been successfully demonstrated.